Baby Shower = Baby Shower Games and a grand time was had by all.
The party was great fun delightfully hosted by Sam’s mom and aunt, and then after the party I went to Steve and Celina’s to visit, eat dinner with SCG&S prepared by our magic-chef Celina, and spend the night. Another treat, not having to drive home in the dark.
When Becky hosts Monday Lunch she makes everyone a Fuzzy Navel.
Rome and Lilly and I ate lunch at the place where you get two burritos for the price of one and we all ate both (they’re not pillow burritos btw), then we had ice cream and walked out on the Hermosa Pier.
Windy and I had a nice walk to Tiato for lunch and enjoyed it all entirely.
A mural along the way.
Jo Ann and Alan and I had a tasty early dinner at Maru Sushi and Ramen, a new-ish Japanese place at 3rd and Wilshire that I’d never been to before. Once they turned the music down to waaaay down we all had a lovely time and agreed we’d happily go again.
We strolled along Palisades Park at sunset enjoying the perfect weather and views of the setting sun. The woman below stood in this position for minimum 10 minutes which was an impressive feat.
Thanks for coming out you guys! (Yes yes I ran the Soft Skin filter… but I forgot to put on my photoshop-lipstick.)
I went with Ben and Bonnie to the historic Farmers Market on Fairfax, in operation since 1934. We ate at the fancy French restaurant where the tables have white clothes and wine glasses and servers take your order. I’d never been there before and it was delightful.
Here’s the restaurant from their website.
And here’s the pickle guy too, and my last visit to The Original Farmers Market with interesting historical pictures.
Richard and Emilia found this festival and it was an excellent choice for our outing. This was the first year and although modest in size, I thought very well organized, plenty of activities for kids, and an all-around fun event. The members of the East Wind Foundation for Youth did a wonderful job hosting.
We happened to be standing at the perfect spot when the events kicked off. Here comes the dragon!
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And then came the lions with the drummers and cymbals.
The kids were coloring in these fans. There was a place for tattoos, painting, spin-the-wheel, a jumpy house, etc.
There was entertainment around the park and a small stage for a puppet show, dance performances, music, etc.
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We had a delicious early dinner at Yang Chow, a spot well know by Richard and Emilia, and good thing we went in early because by the time we left the line was out the door and half-way down the block. And we got to play Fortune Cookie Lotto and hit for 10 bucks. Yes, yes we will, we will ‘re-invest’.
Here’s the LA skyline heading east on the 10 to the 110N transition.
The LA skyline looks so different from every angle and since old buildings are constantly coming down and new buildings going up there doesn’t seem to be any particularly iconic view, where you see the picture and you know where you are. Maybe this one, from the internet where the profile of City Hall stands out.
That’s Lilly and Oliver on this, Oliver’s birthday. Happy Birthday!
Lil was in school (High School!) while Rome and I went to the Redondo Beach Thursday Farmers Market for lunch. This farmers market has mostly prepared food so it’s fun to pick up some things and eat at the great picnic tables that overlook the beach at the Redondo pier.
We got a couple of very tasty onigiri/omisubi (as in spam misubi, the great gas station delight in Hawaii), a delicious beet salad, and this personal pizza. It was another great lunch at the Redondo Beach Thursday Farmers Market. Then we did my chores. Tick Tick.
Nancy and I went for a stroll around the Lake Shrine today. You can’t just stop by like before, you have to make a reservation. They release reservations for the next week on Saturday morning and by Saturday night all the next weekend slots are gone. But we’re retired, so the middle of the day in the middle of the week can work just fine.
Sharon and I had a good day today=chores, lunch, a visit. Just a regular good day, the way we like it.
We got there early when it was not so hot and not so crowded as it was by the time we left. First stop was a visit to several of the presentations – calligraphy, dolls, masks, swords, bonsai. The retail and dining booths were setting up.
Many cranes and lanterns were flying about.
A view from the plaza.
Neko Stop! (neko=cat in Japanese)
We ate here, at Chinchikurin where the specialty is a Hiroshima dish called okonomiyaki and well worth a try. (photo from their website)
Banners for the festival sponsored by a retail store called Japangeles and I’ve included their logo. This is Japan in Japanese 日本 (ni-hon) and they overlaid an LA. Clever, right?
We saw some taiko before lunch and then went back to catch Betsy’s newly discovered group, and then stayed for the group that followed. We all liked Betsy’s group best even though they said most of their front-line performers were in Seattle so they were giving the students a chance to play.
From the parking garage.
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Nooo, I didn’t take a picture of ‘us’ so here’s one from another event. They’re all photophoto folks and really good at coming up with things to do.
It just turned out that way, and it’s been wonderful. (internet picture)
Here’s this week’s program, all Rachmaninoff all night long.
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What we usually eat at the Hollywood Bowl: the snacks for appetizers and then two surprisingly good green salads with the egg in it, and the wine of course, and Chocolate. Easy, not too expensive, and deeelicious!
Me and Kathleen
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Becky, Marija, Marsha, me, Ljubica for a Monday Valley Girls lunch. Alan, Muriel, Jo Ann, for a Sunday Happy Birthday Muriel!
We really liked this guy – flash, dash, and a ton of panache.
Below is the program.
There’s a cool little nature center and then a 43 acre protected marsh right behind the Del Amo Mall. It was all dried out when we visited, but still fun to tromp through the trees, bushes, and weeds.
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Rome’s pictures below!
I’ve been wanting to have a Happy Hour at L’Opera in Long Beach for ages but timing has never worked out when I’m down there. Tonight was the night and it was just as delightful as everyone has always said. Thanks guys!
Merlyn and I walked over to the restaurant and enjoyed some murals along the way.
A couple morning pictures from Merlyn and Hilda’s balcony.
I enjoyed their morning walk too. It’s a beautiful thing to be steps from many great walks.
Maxine, Alicia, Ann, Marija, Marsha
When Max hosts we know we will be treated to a competition-worthy table. And yes there is, competitive table setting, it’s a Thing.
After the show we went to Miceli’s in the valley, not the original, but with better food.
The Pantages Theater, what a delight.
Go to the 1pm matinee and enjoy the afternoon.
Above is the backyard at Liz and Gary’s place. It’s huge! Below is the neighbor’s cat that has adopted Dev and is Dev’s cat now. That’s how cats work.
Liz and I drove into the park to look at the stars. It was a moonless night, a good chance if the clouds cooperated.
Inside the circle you can barely see a picnic table which is where we set up camp to wait.
Failure! I even brought a tripod but I was struggling with it and went to handholding for nice blurry stars. At least I know what was wrong with the tripod so I’ll be shopping soon.
